From Aibo Stuff

Objective

So, What is this guide all about?
This guide will show you how to produce a sound file in the correct format to use with AIBO/Skitter (for use with personalities or dances)
Where can I get my music from?
Take a look on the web, use a DVD, CD or MP3.
Ok sounds good so far, what tools will I need?
You will need Cooledit96 (available from the web, or from TeamDax) and the standard
Sound Recorder (included with Windows)

Section Guide

Section 1 - Getting your sound file into .WAV format

You may be lucky, if the file you have is already a .WAV file you can skip this section (and start at Section 2)

Ok, if you are reading this you probably have an MP3, or want to capture music from a DVD or CD. The technique used here is not the "best" way (you will loose some quality), but it's certainly good enough for playback through an AIBOís speaker and will work for any type of media/file.

Setting up sound recorder to record your file

Double click on the speaker in the task bar at the bottom right of your screen
(near the clock)

TIP: If the RECORD option is greyed this means the default audio device doesnít allow recording. Try selecting other devices from the "mixer device" (see Figure 1b)

Figure 1b

You will now see the recording control screen

Select the Stereo Mix check box, and make sure the recording level is set to
full (See Figure 2)

Figure 2

Close the recording control screen

Creating a recording over 60 seconds

Sound recorder, by default will only allow a maximum of 60 seconds of recording. If
your recording is less than 60 seconds, this isnít a problem. Move on to Recording Your Sound Clip

To get around the 60 second problem. Open up Sound Recorder and record for 60 seconds (doesnít matter what). (See Figure 3)

Figure 3

TIP: To start Sound Recorder Click on the START button, select ALL PROGRAMS, then the ACCESSORIES folder, then the ENTERTAINMENT folder. You will now double click on Sound Recorder.

Save the file (choose any name/folder you like). In this guide the file will be called demo.wav and saved to the desktop.

Click on EDIT, then on INSERT FILE

Select the file you just saved (demo.wav). You will now see you can record for 120 seconds (see Figure 4)

Figure 4

Continue to insert several times, until the maximum recording length is longer than needed for your clip. Each time you repeat, you will increase the maximum recording length by 60 seconds.

Once you have a sufficient maximum recording length, save the file again.

Recording Your Sound Clip

If you skipped the previous section (Because your sound clip is under 60 seconds) Open Sound Recorder now.

Double-Click on the sound clip/file you want to use. The program used to play it will depend on its format (mp3/DVD etc...). This guide will use an mp3 file (which plays in media player by default on most systems) pause it just before the bit you want to record.

Hit the record button on Sound Recorder,

Hit play on media player (see Figure 5)

Figure 5

When the song is recorded, hit the stop button in sound recorder and test your recorded sound by playing it back from Sound Recorder (to verify it was recorded).

Save the new recording (choose any name/folder you like). In this guide the file will be called demo2.wav and saved to the desktop.

TIP: If sound doesnít record, your mic may be muted. Check out Figure 5a for solution

Figure 5a

Congratulations. You now have a .WAV file, but you are not quite finished yet... continue on to the next section.

Section 2 - Converting your .WAV so it will work with AIBO

There are many possible "formats" that a .WAV file can be created in, and most are NOT compatible with AIBO. In this guide a program called Cooledit96 will be used as a "translator program", as it is known to create AIBO compatible .WAV files. There are other programs that will work too, such as WaveStudio from Creative Labs (the SoundBlaster X audio card manufacturer).

Open Cooledit96 (leave the defaults as they are)

Click on FILE, then OPEN, and select your .wav file (see Figure 6) Your screen may show a mono sound file, but donít worry about it.

Removing Extra Silence from Beginning/End of the Sound Clip

Play your song again, you will probably find some extra amount of "silence" at the beginning, and/or at the end of it. If not you can skip to the end of this section.

Play your song again, stopping just before the song actually starts (it may take several tries to stop in the right spot).

Select the silence with your mouse: just click and drag over the silence section. (see Figure 8)

Figure 8

Hit the DELETE key on your keyboard. The silence will disappear. (Figure 9)

Figure 9

Repeat the process again for the end of the song, only stop once you can no longer hear the song playing. (If your song fades out, you may want to turn up the volume louder than usual to get the proper end point and not create a noticable "cut-off")

Thats it

All that's left to do is click on FILE, then SAVE AS... (see Figure 10)

Figure 10

TIP: Name the file something sensible, you can include the underscore character '_' but not any spaces or some of the other symbol characters. For this guide, the file was saved as timewarp_song.wav